Having played around with gadgets a bit more, I’m also thinking of taking a QUATERMAN deck to London. Should be interesting…
While the one I took to Huddersfield didn’t have a chance (it was a silly idea thrown together the night before), the Morgan deck I took to Edinburgh inflicted the only defeat on the eventual 4R control winner and would probably have made top 8 if my luck hadn’t vanished completely for round 4. It’s hard to play against hex control, but if you build expecting to face a lot of it then you can win. The problem being with so many people playing hex control you’ve got to play every game at top gear and hope your deck backs you up, and chances are something will go wrong sooner or later.
There really haven’t been many detailed reports of Gen Con. A few things I wanna know.
How many total decks were there, how many were hex based how many were not.
How many hex decks eliminated other hex decks.
What was the experience level of the various players and decks they brought. If you’re an experienced good player you can overcome weaker players running stronger decks.
Nobody is saying Hex based decks can’t be beat or guarantee a win. The main reason you see deck variety is because although people wanna do well in the end there are no huge prizes. When I went to a sheriff event I put a deck together that I thought was unique but could also win. I went 3-1. But the prize was a sheriff badge. If the prize for winning Gen Con was $10,000 what deck are you bringing to have the best chance of winning? Is anyone honestly saying they’re bringing a horse deck, or a sword in the spirit deck, and legitimately think they will win if that was the prize?
The larger problem with hexes, and why I don’t have huge hopes of future cards simply fixing things, is they keep introducing cards to help hexes. In the exact same saddle bag we got “Sword of the Spirit” we also got “Soul Cage”. We also got Junior which lets hex decks pull out a Mystical goods which Soul Cage is. It’s totally perplexing to me how Miracles didn’t get something to pull the Mystical swords out of the deck while hexes did because Sword of the Spirit does nothing until you have a melee weapon.
Cards keep getting introduced to protect what should be weaknesses of a hex based deck. Slow to start out getting hexes, here’s Funtime Freddy. Worried about kidnappin/ambush or unprepared, here’s Tyxarglenak.
If you look at Miracles they are supposed to buff you, they aren’t supposed to mess with other players. Hexes are supposed to mess with other players. However if you look at hexes they have cards to that absorb casualties (Fetch), buff their bullets (Mirror Mirror), and raise their own hand rank (Hex Slingin). Also look at the buff to making a dude a huckster (Mayfair Family Deck) vs making a dude blessed (Prayer). At this point what stops something from being a hex. If a hex can be a buff, absorb casualties, raise your own hand rank, why do we have different skills.
As a fairly new player(been playing about 2 month) I found coming up against these decks extremely helpful as it help me develop the ‘chess’ game element of doomtown: reloaded very quickly, and as such I feel that I have become a more complete player, (although having a 0-7 record at tournaments says other wise lol). So I don’t think it’s op, it is a really good card tho.
I’m in the same boat as you @Boomboomwhoop, and now it’s not just Paralysis Mark; it’s Puppet too. My starting group usually has a few very low value/grit dudes (like Irving Patterson, Andrew Burton, Dulf Zug, or Allie Hensmen) and I keep letting them get Puppeted after making a poor movement choice. So for me it’s not so much any spell in particular that’s powerful, it just seems really simple to attach all of these very cheap spells quickly, and use them to out-maneuver me.
If i understand Junior correctly, he works the same with any faction. No upkeep, can’t be used when in the starting posse, can’t be aced by yourself to use him by Raising Hell.
(Though in a Hex-deck you could use him multiple times, when he’s aced by shooting)
Blesseds forcing abominations to work for them and gather swords? (his value is bad for pulls, though )
Oh, so he also cannot be aced from your play hand, draw hand, or discard pile, by Gomorra Parish, Raising Hell, Ace in the Hole, This’ll Hurt in the Morning, Buried Treasure, or Eagle Wardens. I didn’t realize that.
)